Miranda Thomas Bowl Featured in the Ritz’s (London) Centenary Celebration

Bridgewater, Vermont, June 5^th 2006: The Centenary Bowl, created by Miranda Thomas of Miranda Thomas Pottery, was presented to the Ritz Hotel in London to commemorate its 100^th birthday on May 24^th 2006. The porcelain bowl was hand thrown by Evan Williams and freehand painted in 14kt gold over a cobalt blue glaze by Miranda Thomas in her pottery in Bridgewater, Vermont. The bowl, given to the hotel, will be shown in the main foyer of the London Ritz at Piccadilly throughout the year during the centenary celebrations.

Miranda’s grandfather, Arthur Davis, was the architect of the London Ritz at the age of 23. Davis designed many other important buildings in London in the Louis XVI Grand Style: The Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, and No. 1 Aldwich on the Strand. He also designed the interiors of the White Star Cunard Liners, the Aquitania, and the Queen Mary.

“This bowl can only begin to express the pride and awe that I feel for my grandfather, for Charles Mewes, for Cesar Ritz, for the owners who have restored the Ritz to its past splendors, and for all the people who have worked there over the last one hundred years,” Thomas expressed.

“The scroll pattern around the bowl circling the Ritz crest is the symbol of life itself. It is an ancient classic pattern which stems from the Greeks and has been used endlessly in the decorative arts. Constantly dividing and unfurling, the line carries one forward through time and space into infinity. Arthur Davis used this pattern frequently in his work and buildings. Blue and gold are the colors of majesty and celebration.”

“Painting a bowl like this in gold luster is scary. It is like skating on ice. One slip of the brush and there is no return, no way of removing a mistake. You have to get it right the first time with no hesitations. You only have one chance.”

—Miranda Thomas